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ing purposes, as hereinafter described United States, residing in the city of Oak and shingles.

is mixed with dirt,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRUMAN J. PEARCE AND MELVIN W. BEARDSLEY, OF OAKLAND, ASSIGNORS O THE PARAFFINE PATNT COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.

FABRIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 348,996, dated September 14, 1886.

Application filed February 19, i886.

France March 30, 1886, No. 162.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, TRUMAN J. PEARCE and MELVIN W. ,BEARDSLEY, citizens of the land, Alameda county, State of California, have invented ccrtai u new and useful I mprovements in Roofing Fabrics; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

Our invention relates to the production and manufacture of material or fabrics for covering roofs and sides of buildings and other exposed surfaces, as a substitute for metal, slate,

As an improvement upon such class of fabrics commonly known as roofing and roofing fabrics, our invention has for its object to produce an article in which certain desirable qualities and propertiesof bending without cracking, of withstanding extreme heat and cold, of resisting acids ,andalkalies and the action of lime and ammonia-shall be secured and be present to a degree not attained in and by any of the modes of manufacture heretofore followed 1'11 producing such kinds of fabric, and in most if not all of which one or more of such qualities and properties are entirely absent.

It consists, accordingly, in a material for roofing and like purposes produced by impregnating and covering fibrous or textile fabric of suitably coarse or open body or texture with maltha, in such manner that the pores or interstices are filled and-a close surface is formed to resist the action of acids and alkalies, and to withstand many other inj urious and destructive agencies and influences to which the same is exposed when used for roof- We proceed in the following manner to attain these ends and objects, and produce an improved article for roofing purposes.

The product and substance known under the name of maltha, as generally obtainable, sand, and other impurities, which should be eliminated before the substance is in a condition suitable for this purpose. It is therefore first refined to remove such impurities when they are present,

Serial No. 192.568. (No specimens.) Patented in England February 5, 18".), No. 1,604; in

442. and in Belgium March 30, 1886.

' and is then reduced to a degree of softness and a consistency sufficiently fluid to enable it to be evenly spread upon and to penetrate the pores or interstices of the fabric that is used for the basis or foundation. In this operation the maltha can be applied in either of two ways, which, for convenience, may be distinguished as the hot method and the cold method. In the onethe maltha, being reduced by the application of heat, is kept at suitable consistency to be readily spread upon the fabric that is used for the basis or foundation and to penetrate the pores or interstices, while in the other method the maltha is reduced to a somewhat more fluid or thinner consistency by means of a suitable solvent-such as bisulphide of carbon-and is applied at normal temperature. The results maybe said to be equally eii'ectivc as regards the qualities and properties secured in the finished article; but the cold method has the advantage of producing a smoother and finer character of surface. This advantage, however, being offset by the additional expense attending both the prepa ration and the manner of applying the material, the hot method commends itself for general simplicity and cheapness of manufacture, and as being well suited for all ordinary purposes. 3 Except, therefore, for a finer quality of roofing material, the hot method is used by us in carrying on this operation.

The maltha is applied to the basis or foundation of fabric by means of a suitable vat or receptacle having a furnace or heating apparatus beneath-it and a set of rollers, to operate after the manner of such or similar apparatus used in coating paper and fabrics wit-h different substances and compounds, only in the case of working with the maltha it requires the furnace or heater to keep the maltha at uniform temperature.

The fabric used for the basis or foundation is such coarse material as burlaps and coarse canvas, and it is passed through the maltha and between the rollers in such manner that the pores or interstices of the fabric are filled up and a body orsurface of uniform thickness of the maltha is obtained in passing the fabric once through the apparatus, provision being made for adjnstingtlie rollers toward and from each other to regulate the thickness of the coating or covering.

In producing this roofing fabric under the cold method, where the maltha is used at normal temperature, as before stated, it will be found necessary to apply it in several coats laid in succession, one over the other, until the fabric is properly filled and a suitable surface obtained.

For most purposes for which this article of roofing is intended it is better to apply a back ing of paper to the fabric, as with such addition it will not stretch or draw out of shape in being laid, and will be kept smooth and in form. \Ve apply this backing to the fabric by causing it to pass between rollers after the malt-hahas been applied, in which operation the paper is placed against the fabriein strips or sheets with their edges properly lapped, if the width of the fabric requires more than the width of one sheet or strip, and by pressure of the rollers the two are firmly united. The adhesive quality of the maltha is sufficient to unite the paper and fabric, so that no cement or other agent is required to affix the backing. A coating of maltha may also be applied to the paper backing where a special grade of roofingisrequiredforsueh purposes as to cover the buildings of acid-works and other works and factories where the under side of the roofing fabric, when laid, would be exposed to fumes and vapors arising in the course of the operations carried on below; but where not so exposed to destructive agencies from below the uneoated paper is suitable for all general purposes for which such roofing may be required. In applying such protective coating to the paper the maltha is used in the cold form at normal temperature, as before described, and may be applied at one of the several times of passing the fabric through the coating-rollers, at which time the paper will be brought against the fabric and caused to adhere by the pressure given by the rollers.

It should be noticed that fibrous material such as felting of the kinds used in building operations and for roofing purposes-can be employed in place of the burlaps and like fabric, as it is susceptible of the same treatment; but the maltha would then be best applied according to the cold method. The product, moreover, having less elasticity than that formed with the burlaps and like mate rial, could be laid without a paper backing; but we prefer to use coarse textile fabric for the foundation, because of the relative lightness and cheapness, and greater flexibility in the manufactured article. In such manner we produce an improved article for rooting, for covering sides of buildings and surfaces to be protected, and which is particularly adapted for use in situations exposed to destructive agencies more active than those of weather and ordinary changes of temperature.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

lhe improved roofing fabric herein described, composed of maltha and a basis or foundation of fibrous or textile fabric, with or without a backing of paper, as set forth.

TRUMAN J. PEARCE. MELVIN \V. BEARDSLEY.

\Vitnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, F. A. TnoMrsoN. 

